'Most of the city is under water': Thousands flee amid scenes of devastation as Atlantic City bears brunt of Hurricane Sandy

Rising waters put most of Atlantic
City under water on Monday as the approach of Hurricane Sandy flooded towns
up and down the New Jersey shore, knocked out power to thousands and
left some people stranded in homes inundated with water.

Emergency officials said they
expected conditions to get much worse at evening high tide when they expect the center of the storm to hit.

'The city's basically flooded,' said Willie Glass, Atlantic City's public safety director. 'Most of the city is under water.'

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Waves crash against a previously damaged pier before landfall of Hurricane Sandy this afternoon as storm-driven waves crashed ashore and flooded seafront communities

U.S. Route 30, the White Horse Pike, one of three major approaches to Atlantic City, New Jersey, is covered with water from Absecon Bay during the approach of Hurricane Sandy

Waves crash next to the Atlantic City Boardwalk, already advancing past the beach, as wind speeds strengthen to 90mph

A man stands on a dry patch of sidewalk on a flooded street as Hurricane Sandy moves up the coast

An empty Boardwalk before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy today as much of the eastern United States was in lock down mode

Chef and maintenance worker AnRich Stringer pulls a pallet loaded with sandbags across the boardwalk to a restaurant entrance for protection from Hurricane Sandy

The same could be said of much of the southern New Jersey shore. The storm surge went over the seawall in Cape May with high tide early Monday and punched through dunes in other communities. The Garden State Parkway south of Atlantic City was shut down in both directions. Officials reported rescues in Pleasantville.

Sandy was just one component of a massive storm coming together over the eastern third of the U.S., bringing damaging wind and flooding and fears of prolonged power outages.

By 11am on Monday, the National Hurricane Center indicated that Sandy had strengthened with top sustained winds of 90 mph. The center was expected to make landfall in southern New Jersey late Monday night.

'It's going to be a slog through the history books but we're doing OK so far,' Glass said.

Atlantic City and its casinos were ordered evacuated on Sunday. The city's historic boardwalk remained intact despite the rising floodwaters, though an old section at the north end broke up and washed away.

A police car drives through a flooded street near the Atlantic City Convention Center on Monday

'It looks like it's going to be worse than the storm of '62, which was monumental,' Glass said. 'Saving lives and making sure everyone is safe is our priority.'

State Emergency Management spokeswoman Mary Goepfert said about 115,000 residents were ordered to evacuate the state's barrier islands, and local officials ordered many more in their towns. It was not known how many heeded the warning. She said more than 2,200 people were in shelters statewide.

About 35,000 homes and businesses across the state were without power by midday Monday as officials braced for a storm surge that was expected to cause record-breaking flooding.

The streets of Atlantic City were mainly deserted.

Ron Skinner, a Harrah's employee who was heading from the boardwalk to the beach, said he was unfazed.

'It is what it is,' he said. 'I don't worry much.'

Tom Foley, Atlantic City's director of emergency management, said officials were sweeping the city's low-lying areas, looking for people who were still in their homes.

While the plywood was tacked onto casino windows, and sandbags sat at the bottoms of doors, the boardwalk looked like it could come to life at any minute.

Neon signs still flashed; lamps were lit and a string of Christmas lights extending from a casino to lamps remained lit. Bally's even kept its outdoor sound system on.

A check-cashing store was boarded up. A pizza place sat empty, rain hitting the white facade of the only building on the block. Rain dripped down the elephants in front of the Trump Taj Mahal Casino Resort, and a piece of sign hung from a billboard, swaying in the wind.

A traffic light near the Atlantic City Expressway dangled precariously, turning 360 degrees before giving out. Water still spraying up from a fountain was blown sideways. On one street, water rose about four inches in a half hour.

A television reporter stands in water one the beach near the Boardwalk as 'Frankenstorm' threatens to wreak havoc on the area with storm surges, driving rain and devastating winds

A flooded street between two casinos along the Boardwalk before the arrival of Hurricane Sandy as 'Frankenstorm' threatened to wreak havoc on the area with storm surges, driving rain and devastating winds

Pounding waves have already broken up sections of the Atlantic City boardwalk, according to photos posted to social media and discussion on police and fire scanners

President Barack Obama signed an
emergency declaration for New Jersey on Sunday, allowing the state to
request federal funding and other assistance for action taken in advance
of the storm.

Christie, who urged people last year
to 'get the hell off the beach' as Hurricane Irene approached, urged
residents of the state's narrow barrier islands to move to higher
ground. By midday on Monday, he said, some people who had not gone
inland may be stuck for the duration of the storm.

'This is not a time to be a show-off,
this is not a time to be stupid. This is the time to save yourself and
your family,' he said.

Those who had chosen to stay were putting themselves in harm's way, he said.

Christie said every school in New
Jersey was closed for Monday and more than half the districts had
already decided to call off classed for Tuesday. Most businesses across
the state seemed to be closed, even some fast-food places as far from
the shore as Cherry Hill.

At New Jersey's southern tip in Cape
May, Victorian Hotel owner John Cooke got all his guests checked out by
Sunday. But as president of the Chamber of Commerce, he decided to stay
himself so he could update other business owners on the situation. 'It's
important for me to be here to be here to communicate,' he said.

Atlantic City's 12 casinos closed for
only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling here.
State parks also shut down.

Flooding begins to inundate a parking garage ahead of Hurricane Sandy as Governor Chris Christie's emergency declaration shut down the city's casinos and 30,000 residents were ordered to evacuate

Atlantic City's 12 casinos closed for only the fourth time in the 34-year history of legalized gambling here. State parks also shut down

A car sits in a flooded street near the ocean ahead of Hurricane Sandy today - and the worst is yet to come

A security guard stands outside the entrance of Caesar's Casino on the Atlantic City boardwalk, with doors covered with sheets of plywood for protection

Residents of northern New Jersey
river communities braced for another round of the flooding that has
become commonplace for them.

Pompton Lakes has been hit by flooding
several times in the last decade, most notably last year after Irene
swept through the area and left dozens of businesses and homes severely
damaged.

Some in the town were already putting belongings out near the curb, in advance of the storm.

'People are worst-case-scenario-ing
it,' said Kevin Gogots, who has lived in the town since the early '80s.
'They're figuring, divide and conquer: They'll take the stuff they want
to save and put the rest out. Of course, if the street floods again
we'll just have things floating around.'